Device for radioactive impregnation of materials



QQL 936 E. ROSENBERG ET AL I 2,056,370

DEVICE FOR RADIOACTIVE IMPREGNATION OF MATERIALS Filed Feb. 28, 1956.

INVENTORS iixw W aw ATTORNEY Patented ct. 6, 1936 Device 2.056370 roe RADIOACTIVE arena- 'llllON or MATERIALS V ,ligon Rosenberg, Berlin,and.1i?anl liliappel,

Hamburg, Germany Application February 28, 1936,'Serial No. 66,250.

- lin Germany January 15,1935

p I "'1 Claims; (015167-51) -This "invention relates to impregnation with radioactive material and more particularly -t impregnation with "radium emanation.

In the impregnation .o'f -materials with radioactive preparations;great care mustwbe taken notonlyto preventloss or leakageo'f the preparation, but also to control just the right quantity of preparation to be used in each impregnation. This? is particularly true where :the preparation includesradiun'i. emanation which. is in the nature ;oi-a gas. Accordingly 'it'is one of the principal objectsrof this invention to provide a device'of relatively simpieconstruction which is capable of effecting impregnation of 'materials with ra- ,dium emanation in :accuratelycontrollable amounts and without danger-of leakage of theemanation-g 1 r -Anotherobjectpi the invention or loss to provide a device whereby materials maybe impregnated with radium emanation under pressure and in an atmosphere consisting substantially entirely of the emanationitseli.

A feature of the invention relates 'toa device 'for impregnating ..with-- radiurn emanation employing a closed chamber containing the radium or other source of radium emanatioinin conjunction with nieans withinthe; chamber but controllable from withoutthe chamber, for releasing .theemanation into contact with the-material to be impregnated within the chamber? .Another feature relates :to a device for impregnating with radium. emanation employing a gas- ..tight chamberhaving on'the interior a -movable piston for. creating a vacuum'within the chamber ..together with-meansfor-mounting the radium or other source ;"of radium emanation within the chamber in-such a manner' that the release of the emanationcan'be controlled by the :ment' of thepiston.

Another feature relates to aidev ice for impregnation withiradium emanation employing a gas tight chamber containing the radium or other source of radiumg emanation, in conjunction with animproved-yalve arrangement and a piston for creating a vacuum within the chamber,- foradmitting a predetermined-quantity of emanation when the desiredgvacuum has been attained, and ior fcrcing the emanation into the material to beimpregnated.

A further feature relates to a devicewhich is particularly adapted to the impregnationof such vmaterials as salves, oils,;ointments and the like :with radium 'emanationjn such a; manner that "the emanation is forced into the body ;material in the absenceof air.;

of the that this'is done merely for explanatory purposes arid notfby way of limitation. Accordingly in I the drawing there is shown in longitudinal verti- T15} "cal section a device for impregnating materials with radium emanation -wherein the source of the r'a'dium'emanation is contained entirely within the device 'thus',.eliminating the employment of an external'source of radium emanationand 2 the usual stop-cocks for controlling the admis sion of the emanation. In general the device comprises a cylinder i of glass or other suitable 'mate'rial which is 'providedgwith gas tight end 'closure'members 12and 3,;the closure members 2 -being' heldwin' place bya {series of tie rods; only :one'of which is-shown in thedrawing.

It will be understood ofcourse that any well-known mannerof providing a gas-tight union between the fmembers i, 2 'and3maybeemployed. The rear 3' end caprt is provided with an'internally threaded 'b-oss through which passes the correspondingly threaded, shaft provided at its outer end with any suitabie'formoi handle. It will. be understood'that any-.well-kncwn manner of rendering 35 the chamber gas-tight, while allowing the member i 'to' beturned, may be employed.

Coupled to theiorward end of shaft 5 is a piston. assembly comprising two members 5 and 6 in'threaded engagement with each other as 40 rshownwin'the drawing. The member is provided 'fwith a recess'l in which" is mounted a quantity fof a radioactive material 8 in the form of a radium salt or other radioactive material which is capable of forming radium emanation sponr 40 taneously. Member 5 is also provided with a :conical valve opening'fisin which isseated a corresponding conical valve plunger iii; The valve is normally maintained closed by means of a spring which abuts at one end against member -5 and at the otherend against a button l2 carried ,by the plunger it.

It will be noted that the memberii 'is'provided with a passage 53 to receive the spring H and button 52, this window being closed by a metal disc or membrane i i fastened 55 to the outer face of member 5 in any suitable manner. The inner face of member 6 is provided with a channel in communication with recess 1 and also with the valve opening 9.

While the shaft 4 may be coupled to the piston in any well-known manner preferably the said shaft is provided with a protruding pin l6 carrying a ball I! at its forward end, this ball being seated in a corresponding internally threaded recess H in member 6 and fastened by means of a threaded nut l8. The end cap 3 is provided with a circular flange or ring IQ of such a diameter that when the piston is moved to its extreme lefthand position, the disc I4 is engaged thereby and flexed so as to push the plunger H) to the left, thus opening the valve and allowing the radium emanation to flow into the passage I3. Preferably another circular flange or ring 20 is provided this flange being of a greater depth than flange l9 and being adapted to engage the outer face of member 6 to limit the extent of opening movement of member ID thus preventing a possible rupture of membrane M. For the purpose of admitting the material to be impregnated into the passage l3 there is provided a nozzle 2| which is provided with a suitable stop-cock 22.

The manner of using the device is along the following lines. Assuming the stop-cock 22 is closed and the piston is in its forward position, that is, adjacent the wall 2, then if the shaft 4 is turned to move the piston rearwardly, a vacuum is produced in the passage l3 in front of the piston. It will be noted that the valve spring II is sufiiciently strong that it prevents the valve plunger ID being moved prematurely to open position as the piston is moving rearwardly. When the piston is moved to its rearmost position, that is, when the membrane l4 engages ring 20, the valve spring II is overcome, allowing the plunger III to move to open the valve. At this time the radium emanation which is generated by the preparation 8 is suckedinto the passage l3 in front of the piston.

After the radium emanation has thus flowed into the space in front of the piston, the shaft 4 is turned to move the piston forwardly whereupon the valve |0 closes under control of spring I I so that a new quantity of the radium emanation may be generated and retained on the interior of the piston. The piston is then moved forwardly to a point where size of the passage l3 in front of the piston is about of the order of the volume of salve, ointment or other material that is to be admitted for impregnation. The liquid salve which is supplied to nozzle 2| is sucked into the space I3 when the stop-cock 22 is opened and mixes with the radium emanation in said space. Upon further pressure by the piston the emanation which remains outside the salve can be pressed into the salve.

With the foregoing arrangement, one can not only impregnate liquid salves or ointments with the radium emanation, but also any other desired liquids. Likewise it is also possible, to charge the device through the nozzle 2| with a gas instead of a liquid and the gas will mix with the radium emanation. Furthermore one can also impregnate solid materials such as carbon, paraffin and the like, by threading onto the nozzle 2| a suitable vessel containing the solid material. Thus the vessel with the solid matter to be impregnated therein, is threaded on to the nozzle 2|. By moving the piston rearwardly, a vacuum is created in the vessel. Upon further backward movement of the piston, the admission valve [0 is opened as described above, and the radium emanation is admitted by suction in front of the piston and also to the vessel containing the material to be impregnated. Then when the piston is moved forwardly, the radium emanation is forced into the solid material within the vessel.

While one specific embodiment of the invention has been described herein, various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. 7

What is claimed is:

1. In a device of the character described, the combination of a gas-tight enclosing chamber, an inlet nozzle for said chamber, a gas-tight valve for said nozzle, a piston movable in said chamber, means external to said chamber for reciprocating said piston to create a suction in front of said piston and through the nozzle, said piston arranged to carry a quantity of radioactive material for generating radium emanation, a valve normally closing off communication between said material and the interior of said chamber, and means automatically responsive to movement of said piston to a predetermined position for opening said valve to allow radium emanation to flow into said chamber.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination of a gas-tight enclosing chamber, an inlet nozzle for said chamber, a gas-tight valve for said nozzle, a piston within said chamber and movable to create a suction in front of said piston and through said nozzle, said piston having means to carry a quantity of radium emanation, a valve movable with said piston and normally cutting off communication between said material and the interior of said chamber, and means within the chamber arranged to engage said valve to open the same when said piston reaches a predetermined point in its movement.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination of a gas-tight cylinder, an inlet nozzle for said cylinder, a gas-tight valve for said nozzle, a piston movable within said cylinder to create a suction in front of said cylinder and through said nozzle, a recess within said cylinder to receive a quantity of material for producing radium emanation, a passage between said recess and the interior of said chamber, a valve controlling said passage, a spring normally pressing said valve to close said passage, a valve stem for said valve and projecting from said piston, and an annular flange on the inner face of the end wall of the cylinder positioned to engage said valve stem to open said passage.

4. In a device of the character described, the combination of a gas-tight cylinder, an inlet nozzle for said cylinder, a gas-tight valve for said nozzle, a piston movable within said cylinder to create a suction in front of said piston and through said nozzle, a recess within said cylinder to receive a quantity of material for producing radium emanation, a passage between said recess and the interior of said cylinder, a valve controlling said passage, a valve stem extending through an opening in said piston, a flexible metal disc closing said opening, and a projection on the end wall of the cylinder positioned to engage said disc to operate said valve to open said passage.

5. In a device for impregnating materials with radium emanation, the combination of an enclosing chamber, a coupling nozzle at one end of the chamber through which said materials are passed into the chamber, a gas-tight valve for said nozzle, a piston within said chamber and arranged to carry a quantity of radioactive material for generating radium emanation, means operable from the exterior of said chamber to move the piston rearwardly to create at least a partial vacuum in front of the piston, and a valve within said chamber and controlled by the piston to allow the radium emanation to be sucked into the chamber only when the piston is in its rearmost position.

6. In a device for impregnating materials with radium emanation, the combination of a glass cylinder having end caps united to the cylinder in a gas-tight manner, an inlet nozzle communieating with said cylinder, a valve for said noz zle, a piston movable within the cylinder said piston arranged to contain a quantity of radioactive material for generating radium emanation, means to move said piston to create a suc-= tion in front of said piston and through said nozzle, a valve for controlling the admission of the radium emanation into the cylinder, a pair of annular flanges on the inner face of one end cap, one of said flanges cooperating with the valve to open the same, and the other acting as a stop to limit the opening movement of the valve.

'7. A device according to claim 6 in which the valve is provided with a stem extending through an opening in the piston which opening is closed in a gas-tight manner by a flexible disc, said disc engaging said one of said flanges to move the valve to open position, and the other flange acting to limit the flexure of the disc.

EGON ROSENBERG. PAUL HAPPEL. 

